I have an HD camcorder with a heavy back (the tripod screw is on the front of the camera and the "heavy" battery is on the back), so a regular hard mini tripod With a short, the legs could not easily support the weight of the camera. (Camcorder 2.5"H x 2.5"W x 5.5"D) Other reviews made me a little skeptical, but this little adjustable tripod is awesome! Can protrude beyond the back of the camera so it's easy to use holds the weight very well and supports all camera angles It also has good grippy rubber feet to keep it in place on smooth surfaces I bought this camera to record meetings on my laptop so all I had to do was lift the camera a few inches and/or tilt to see my laptop screen where both laptop and camera are on the same table.outdoors I can usually find a flat rock to place the camera on but all I need is a small tripod to position the lens Tilt up or down or a bit to the side to get the photo level.This little tripod does its job!So happy with it.